Nanodiamond Technology Promises Elimination of Biopsies

By Hamodia Staff

(123rf)

YERUSHALAYIM — A team of researchers at Bar-Ilan University in Israel have combined techniques in nanotechnology and optics to produce tiny (nanometric) diamond particles so small that they are capable of penetrating the skin to deliver medicinal and cosmetic remedies.

They employed a safe, laser-based optical method that quantifies nanodiamond penetration into the various layers of the skin and determines their location and concentration within body tissue in a non-invasive manner – thereby eliminating the need for a biopsy.

Nanodiamonds — a millionth of a millimeter in size — are produced by detonating explosives inside a closed chamber. Under these conditions high temperature and pressure cause the carbon atoms found in explosives to fuse together. The nanodiamonds created in the process are small enough to penetrate tissue – and even cells — without inflicting harm.

Similar to intravenous, artificial diamonds can deliver various medications to intended targets, and their distance and location may be controlled due to the minute size of the nanodiamonds. The approach to drug delivery using nanoparticles has already proven successful in previous research.

The nanodiamonds newly-developed at Bar-Ilan University have also been proven effective antioxidants. This property ensures that particles penetrating the body are both safe and therapeutic, as their chemical properties allow them to be coated with medication prior to their insertion into the body.

The optical method developed by the research team enables them to identify relative nanodiamond concentrations of particles in the different layers of skin (epidermis, dermis and fat) through safe and non-invasive sensing based on a blue wavelength laser, a unique finding in itself given the fact that red wavelength lasers are generally used in human medical exams and treatments.

To determine their location in the skin and in what concentration, patients are briefly exposed to the blue laser beam. An optical system creates a photograph-like 3D image through which optical changes in treated tissue can be extracted and compared to adjacent, untreated tissue using a specially-created algorithm. 

“This is a significant development in dermatology and in optical engineering,” says Prof. Dror Fixler, Director of the Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials at Bar-Ilan University and a member of the research team.

“It could open the door to developing drugs applied through the skin alongside modern cosmetic preparations using advanced nanotechnology.”

To Read The Full Story

Are you already a subscriber?
Click to log in!